Editorial

Hello and welcome to the first issue of the invisible worker. It’s great that you’ve joined us, and we really hope that you enjoy this issue and find it informative, interesting and fun. Now maybe you’ve picked up a physical copy of this zine, or, perhaps, you’ve clicked download and the PDF has landed straight onto your desktop, and it’s likely your attention needs grabbing before you move onto something else. If possible we ask that you take your time, turn off your phone, put the kettle on and close down your email. It’s not a long zine and we reckon you can read the whole thing in 23 minutes. If you just want to look at the pictures, that’s fine too.

So to start with, what’s it all about? Why is this zine here, vying for your attention along with everything else? Well, it’s about work and how it’s changing. Particularly how information technologies, such as smartphones, computers and the internet are changing how we access paid employment, our experiences of work, as well as what we consider work to be. Now that’s a broad topic, too broad in fact. If we were to try to document all the ways that the micro-processor has changed work it would take forever, and be more sleep inducing than a valium overdose. So we’re not going to do that — I don’t need to tell you that we now use email to communicate, and Skype for meetings. What we are going to focus on is the changes that you might not know about, the types of work being created that aren’t apparent, and the labour that is being hidden behind the screen. We will focus on the invisible workers, with the hope that by shining a light on the different types of labour often excluded from mainstream discussions, we can help make sure basic worker rights are maintained, and advanced, as our economy becomes increasingly digital. Each issue will be thematic, taking you through a topic and providing an overview in a way we hope is accessible for all.

Issue one explores the world of Online Labour Platforms, what they are, what it’s like to make a living on a platform, and what the social and political implications are surrounding their growth. We’ll hear from workers, academics and artists, and their original artwork, poetry, articles and stories.

Thanks for joining us.